monitor audio at sevenoaks

[admin_exported]

i was in Sevenoaks yesterday demoing some Monitor audio RS1's against B&W 686's. Just thought you might like to know that sevenoaks are doing 25% off the entire monitor audio range just now. I got a set of RS1's for £262 instead of the normal £350. Its not because mon audio are about to replace their speaker range either, cos i checked. So anyone after those BR5's and BR2's ( and there seem to be a few of you on this forum), i would get down there pronto!

 

[Cypher]

So, you got the RS1 for a very nice price. Congratulations ! Did you like them better than the B&W 686 ?

 

[Anonymous]

I did. When i heard the 686's before it was on the end of a kandy amp and we were listening to them at very high volume levels ( amp at 12 0 clock).They sounded stunning at that volume. Yesterday we listened to the 686's and RS1's at normal listening levels ( about 9.30-10 o clock on the amp). The 686's were awful at low or mid volume. They really sounded dull ( as you said in another post). They had a dull boxy sound with no bottom end or treble extension and a veiled midrange.My amp is not a powerhouse but it does have a bit of oomph and it drove the RS1's well so i don't think it was the amp. The sensitivity of the 686's is 84db and i bet it was that. If you crank the amp they sound superb with real punch and arguably a better soundstage than the RS1's.They were not as clear and open as the RS1's though, or as detailed, but there was not much in it. The high volume req'd to get them to sound good is totally impractical though as most folk, including myself, can't play music at that volume at home. We needed the amp at 11 o clock or more before they came alive. I did not demo the 685's as they are a bit big, but i bet they don't have the same problem.The RS1's were good at low and mid volume with perhaps just a touch of real bottom end punch at lower volumes being the only thing missing.They still had plenty of punch though and are far superior to the original S1's in that respect, which is interesting as MA used the same drivers.They are ruthless speakers though and really show up duff production on cd's but with well produced stuff they are unreal. Got them in cherry.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Yes, I took Sevenoaks up on their generosity - RS6s for £450! I went along with my Brother-in-law to demo some av speakers for him (B&W mt20s - wow!) and amp and ended up with the speakers I was about to buy for £600! Very happy and impressed with the all round service in the shop (Epsom branch).

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder why they are doing it as its a huge discount and some of the monitor audio range are virtually brand new. Not that i am complaining. Cypher, you bought The RS1's didnt you? how are you finding them? They will take ages to run in if they are anything like previous mon audio stuff. I am going to wire mine out of phase and then you can crank them but you get practically no sound. V handy as that will run in the tweeter in a week if i leave them running when i am at work. The woofer will take a bit longer to loosen up though.

 

[Gyp]

Looking on the web site they're doing 25% off kef too...

I think I'll pop in and have a chat.

 

[Anonymous]

I can guarantee there is practically no difference between the 686s and the 685s, no bass difference, no treble difference!

I got a quote for some Monitor Audio Silver RS6s for £480 at the Oxford branch from Emma Laurance who is the manager. Not a bad deal I thought.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Hughes123"]
I can guarantee there is practically no difference between the 686s and the 685s, no bass difference, no treble difference!

I got a quote for some Monitor Audio Silver RS6s for £480 at the Oxford branch from Emma Laurance who is the manager. Not a bad deal I thought.

[/quote]

hopefully the 685's would sound good at moderate volume, considering all the great reviews.The 686's were far from good until high listening levels.

 

[Anonymous]

cypher, where are you?

 

[Cypher]

I picked up my RS1 speakers yesterday. Right now they do sound a bit bright and there's not much bass. In the manual it says they need 60 hours running-in. So I'll just wait then but I am not going to sell the BR2 right away, you never know..........

 

[Anonymous]

Once they are run in i think you will clearly hear the difference. i thought maybe you had alredy been listening to them for a bit.You could wire them out of phase for a week and that would run them in really quickly.It is perfectly safe and i have seen it mentioned in what hi fi? a few times over the years.If you don.t know how to do it, basically connect the cables to one speaker as normal but on the other speaker, connect the red to black and black to red.When you crank your amp there is virtually no noise so you can leave them running at night ( if you sleep in a different room) and all day.Works brilliantly!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Silly question here, but do you have your cd player on and just loop the same cd or what?

 

[Anonymous]

yes.just put the cd player on repeat and pick a cd with lots of bass to try and loosen the drivers up too.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all

I am planning to pop along to my local sevenoaks to audition the BR5s: they suggest a listen to the Silver SR6s (down to £450). Are they significantly better?

I have also heard that the RS6s need a lot of space. They are for my living room (not my main listening room) and I will see them a lot more than hear them, and don't want them far out into the room. The room is pretty long (25 feet into a recess) but they will be firing widthwise.

Any thoughts welcome.